Preparation for the Spirit of Anti Christ

Sermon Transcript by Rev. Ernest O’Neill

A dictatorship has been prepared for during previous years. And dear ones, in Cuba the people there
had had this decay working in their hearts for many years. So gradually their natures changed, and
changed, and changed. And when the dictator came they welcomed him as the savior. And so it was in
Germany. It was no sudden event; the decay had been seeping through the nation. The decadence had
been working in the people’s hearts. And to those of us on the outside it was a great surprise when
the dictator took over but to the people really it was no surprise. The people received him as a
savior.

It’s when the people’s needs and the people’s willingness to pay the price for the fulfillment of
their needs come together that the dictator takes over without a battle. And so it will be with the
antichrist. When the antichrist comes there will be no great opposition to him but there will be a
great flocking to him from all the corners of the earth. It will be dear ones whose hearts have
been deceived, and whose hearts have been prepared, and whose hearts have been looking for the
savior but whose hearts have not been filled with the Holy Spirit. It will be those, whose lives are
not pervaded by the spirit of God’s truth, and they will flock to the antichrist and they will
welcome him as the savior.

So it will be with the personal opponent of Jesus Christ who the New Testament says will come at the
end of the ages. He will be hailed as a new savior. And you say, “Well, why will this be?” Well
you can look for yourself in the New Testament and find out why it will be dear ones. It’s in 1
John 4 and the second half of Verse 3. “And every spirit which does not confess Jesus is not of
God.” And then the second half reads, “This is the spirit of antichrist, of which you heard that it
was coming, and now it is in the world already.” That was 100 A.D.

The spirit of the antichrist has been in the world preparing the hearts of many of the so called
faithful to receive the antichrist when he comes. And so the Bible itself teaches that there is a
spirit of antichrist abroad even in church people, abroad even in those who think they are deep
Christians. There is a spirit of antichrist seeping underneath the very Holy Spirit that is trying
to get a hold of all our hearts and lives. And that antichrist spirit is preparing us to receive the
antichrist. And when he comes, many of us will be deceived into thinking that this is Jesus. This
is the second coming of our Savior.

Now this is why the Bible warns us to discern spirits. And you can see that warning in 1 John 4:3b
there, “This is the spirit of antichrist, of which you heard that is coming, and now it is in the
world already.” And 1 John 2:18, “Children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that
antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come; therefore we know that it is the last
hour.” And in 1 John 4:1, the warning to test the spirits, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit,
but test the spirits to see whether they are of God; for many false prophets have gone out into the
world.”

And you may say, “Well, why are you preaching about the antichrist?” Well, I’m not preaching
because you can stop the antichrist coming. You cannot. You cannot break scripture. The scripture
says the antichrist will come and you cannot stop him coming. Even if I could tell you who he was
at this moment you could not stop him coming. Perhaps he is in the world already but you will not
be able to stop him coming because the scripture cannot be broken. But dear ones, it is imperative

that we begin to discern the spirit of antichrist when he moves in our own hearts lest we ourselves
be deceived when he comes. That’s why I’m preaching. Not so you will be able to look to the
antichrist, and not so that dear ones here will be able to become excited over whom the antichrist
might be. Dear ones, those are doctrines of demons. Those are doctrines of demons when these false
prophets who do not even prophesy in the name of Jesus say, “The antichrist is born in such and such
a land.” That is not what the Bible tells us to look for. But the Bible does tell us to discern our
own spirits and discern the spirits that are working in our own hearts so that we ourselves will not
be deceived.

You see, the Bible comes right down the line on who are Christians and who are not. The Bible comes
right down the line by the law and tells us, “If you obey the law then you please God.” The Bible
says that right from the first part of the Bible to the last part of the Bible. It tells us that,
“Obedience to the law is the mark of the sons of God.” Then Jesus Christ came and he says, “Whoever
has my spirit in their hearts, you are the sons of God, you are the children of God.” And Christ
comes right down the line and points out the things that we need to have if we claim to be alive in
God. And then the Holy Spirit came after Jesus ascended to the Father and he comes right down the
line and he says, “If I abide in you, you will have these marks. You will have love, and joy, and
peace.” And he comes right down the line. And the law, and Jesus Christ’s life, and the Holy
Spirit all testify to us who are the sons of God.

Now dear ones, there will come a day when God will allow someone to testify to us who will bring
even a clearer judgment. When the antichrist comes many of us who think we are sons of God will
find out where we really stand when we follow him as the antichrist. So it is important tonight, on
the last night of the conference, to make sure that you have the pure Holy Spirit of truth governing
your life.

Now you may sit there and say, “Ah, now this is a lot of mumbo jumbo. You don’t need all this stuff
to distinguish the antichrist. I have a good mind and I may not be walking in all the light that
God has given me but I have a good mind and I can discern the antichrist.” Now dear ones, the Bible
makes it plain that it will be difficult to discern the antichrist.

One of the reasons it will be difficult is given in 1 John 2:19. You remember, John had said so
many antichrists have come. And then the Bible reads, “They went out from us, but they were not of
us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out, that it might
be plain that they all are not of us.” But one reason is the antichrist and the spirit of
antichrist is among us ourselves.

Another reason is given plainly in Ephesians 6:11, why you cannot discern the antichrist just by
your clever mind, “Put on the whole armor of God.” Why? “That you may be able to stand against the
wiles of the devil.” The Devil when he comes in the person of the antichrist will not plainly have
a name on his chest saying, “Satan,” or, “Antichrist.” He will come with tricks and with wiles. It
will be impossible to discern him however closely you have studied the Bible. The Bible itself is
not a sufficient guard against the antichrist.

Some of us know we’re not walking in all the will of God. You know it. You know you’re not walking
in all the will of God. You know you’re walking a little aside from God’s will and yet you keep
pretending to yourself, “Ah, I will not be deceived by the antichrist. I will know him because I
will see him. He will look like the antichrist.” He won’t dear ones. The spirit of antichrist was
in the false prophets. And here is what is said about the false prophets by Jesus, Matthew 7:15,

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you…” “In wolves clothing?” No but, “Who come to you in
sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”

In other words, the antichrist will look like Christ. You see from what you read in the scripture
the antichrist will come and will claim to unite all nations and all political powers in himself.
He will claim to unite all churches in himself. He will come as the savior of the world. He will
say, “Come, bring to me your sick and your dying. Come to me those who are enslaved and need
deliverance and I will deliver you.” The antichrist will look like Christ. He will be in sheep’s
clothing. You by the cleverness of your own mind, or even by your intimate knowledge of the Bible
will not be able to discern him just by that alone.

You may say, “Oh, now that’s silly we’ll know him by his works. He will come and he will burn and
ravage all before him.” He won’t. He will come with healing medicines. He will come with an offer
of peace, mental peace such as we have never had before. He will come and offer to solve the
international problems in politics. He will come and promise to solve the economic difficulties we
have in our nations. He will come with good works.

You doubt it? Well, look at what Jesus says himself. You can find it there in Matthew 7:22, that
same chapter. Jesus says, “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your
name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty words in your name?’ And then will I
declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.’” And so the antichrist will
come with mighty works that imitate the works of Jesus.

You remember, what happened when Moses threw down his staff and it turned into a snake. Weren’t
they able to imitate the work even of God? How much more will the antichrist be able to imitate the
very works of Jesus? Some of us say, “Well, we’ll know him by his fruits. By their fruits you
shall know them.” But you know that today already there are imitation fruits all around us. There
are so many of us that talk about concern now. We talk about care. You must be concerned. You must
show concern for the downtrodden. But it isn’t the loving. It isn’t the loving concern that comes
from the heart of Jesus. It’s an artificial, politic, philanthropic concern that ends when its
purpose is achieved.

But already there is this artificial imitation of love abroad in many of our hearts. Already there
is an imitation of Christian joy abroad. And many dear ones cannot discern the difference between
real Christian joy and the happiness that seems to exist in people’s minds. There is a false peace
abroad not only with the tranquilizers but there is a false peace with the new drugs, there is a
false peace with even the blindness that has come in many men’s eyes about the future. There are
artificial fruits. We will not be able to discern the antichrist simply by his works or by his
fruits.

The only way we can prepare for the coming of the antichrist and the only way you can be assured
that you will not be deceived by him when he comes is to allow the Holy Spirit tonight to wield his
sword in your own spirit and to show you if any of the marks of the spirit of antichrist are present
in your life. Now will you do that dear ones? Will you allow the Holy Spirit to wield his own
sword in your heart? And will you stop saying, “I was born again on that date.” Or, “I was
sanctified on that date.” Or, “I was baptized with the Spirit on that date.” And allow the Holy
Spirit himself to speak to your heart.

Let’s just look at some of those plain marks in scripture. The first one is found right at the

beginning of the Bible. Genesis 3:4-6, “But the serpent,” who is a symbol too of Satan and of the
antichrist, “But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not die. For God knows that when you
eat,’” (of that tree of knowledge of good and evil) “Your eyes will be opened, and you will be like
God, knowing good and evil.” The spirit of antichrist is the spirit of the whisperer. The spirit
of the antichrist is the spirit of the whisperer. The spirit of antichrist makes the bullets and
allows someone else to fire.

“I believe that Mrs. Woodard feels that your children make a little too much noise.” Yeah, that’s
the spirit of antichrist. That establishes a hostile triangle. Right? With the one that told it,
with the one whose children are being talked about, and with Mrs. Woodard. And you only need four
of those and you have 12 dear ones who have distrusting built up in their hearts for each other.
No, it is up to Mrs. Woodard to go and tell about the children herself. But the spirit of the
whisperer wants to have the privilege of imparting to you some special knowledge that only she has.

The spirit of antichrist is the spirit of the whisperer. This is why John Wesley said, “Never say
anything about anyone who is absent or anyone who is dead.” Never! You don’t need to talk about
them. You don’t need to do you? Are you doing them any good? It’s the spirit of antichrist that
is working in your heart at that moment, dear ones. It’s not achieving any good. You know that. It
only creates distrust.

Or, “You know I don’t think John is really capable of that job.” When it isn’t your responsibility
to decide whether he is capable or not and you aren’t asked any opinion but you say to a third
member, “I don’t think John is really capable.” That binds you two in an attitude of superiority to
John. And eventually John’s spirit feels that and there’s distrust. And the spirit of antichrist has
already begun to prepare you to receive him when he comes because he is the spirit of the whisperer.

Dear ones, no whisper. And if there’s any whisper in your heart, and if you’ve done that, then seek
the Spirit for purification tonight–not only for forgiveness but for purification from that
whispering spirit.

Let’s look at a second mark of the antichrist. Generally speaking, it’s given by Jesus in Matthew
15:6. And generally speaking, it’s the attitude of the serpent in the Garden of Eden–the attitude
that wants to question or disobey God’s word. You remember, the serpent said, “God hath not said.”
And it’s that spirit. It’s found in Matthew 15:6. Jesus is speaking to some of those who have the
spirit of antichrist living in them. “So, for the sake of your tradition, you have made void the
word of God.”

Now first of all dear ones, “For the sake of your tradition.” So, many of us will say, “Well, I
believe that you’re righteous because Christ’s righteousness is imputed to you. I believe you’re
holy in Christ. I believe you can commit adultery and God looks down upon you and he says, ‘That’s
not adultery because you’re in Christ.’” And there are dear ones you say, “This is our tradition.
We believe in imputed righteousness. We believe you are holy in Christ. You may not be holy in
life but you’re holy in Christ.” And so they have a list of sins every day. And they bring them to
Christ and they confess them to him as a matter of course. But they thank them that they are holy in
Christ. And Jesus again and again says, “If a man loves me he will keep my words. If a man loves
me he will not continue to cut me apart with the nails and the sword.” But they say they are holy
in Christ. And Jesus says, “So, for the sake of your tradition, you have made void the word of God.”
There are many in whom the spirit of antichrist has made void the word of God for the sake of their

tradition.

So let’s go to the other side of the spectrum and there are many of us who believe in holiness and
we say, “It’s glorious when you come to the place where you die to that old self and where the Holy
Spirit cleanses your heart from anger, and jealousy, and impatience, and irritability, and critical
spirit. And it’s glorious when you come to that place when you know the old self is dead at last
and nailed to the cross.” And then the next day we find we’re a little angry. So for the sake of
our tradition, for the sake in our belief in eradication we say, “The sin was taken out so that’s
not anger.” And we call black white. For the sake of our tradition we make void the word of God.

Now dear ones, those are some of the marks of the spirit of antichrist. And I see some dear ones
whom I love and they’ll know what I mean when I say this, many of us do the same with the baptism of
the Holy Spirit. We say, “I am baptized with the Holy Spirit. I may be irritable in my home, I may
cut my wife to bits, I may be angry when friends oppose my doctrine, but I am baptized with the Holy
Spirit.” Dear ones, the baptism with the Holy Spirit, according to Acts 15:9, cleanses our hearts
by faith. “But for the sake of our tradition we make void the word of God.” One group pretends
that sin is not sin with them. The other group pretends that what they’re doing is not sin. And
the middle group ignores sin all together. .”And for the sake of our condition, for the sake of our
human doctrines, we make void the word of God.”

There’s another mark of the spirit of antichrist that is outlined in Colossians 2:16-22. “Therefore
let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink or with regard to a festival or a new
moon or a Sabbath. These are only a shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.
Let no one disqualify you, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, taking his stand on
visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom
the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth
that is from God. If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the universe, why do you live
as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations, ‘Do not handle, Do not
taste, Do not touch’ (referring to things which all perish as they are used), according to human
percepts and doctrines? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting rigor of devotion
and self-abasement and severity to the body, but they are of no value in checking the indulgence of
the flesh.” And many dear ones who have not really entered into the purifying power of the Holy
Spirit have sunk into a false legalism.

The Holy Spirit makes you want to obey God’s law. And we have every responsibility to encourage
each other to obey the law of God if the Holy Spirit of God dwells in us. But there is a false
legalism. There is a list of don’ts and do’s that many of us arrange to suit ourselves. So we
happen not to do this thing so we label that as sin because we have no trouble avoiding it. And we
list our don’ts and we create a false legalism that is the very spirit of antichrist because it
takes our eyes off the beauty of Jesus and the Spirit of Jesus and puts our eyes on men’s precepts
and doctrines.

There is also another mark of the spirit of antichrist mentioned in 1 Timothy 6:20, “O Timothy,
guard what has been entrusted to you. Avoid the godless chatter and contradictions of what is
falsely called knowledge, for by professing it some have missed the mark as regards the faith.”
“Avoid the godless chatter and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge.” Even in Jesus’
day there was a development among the Greeks of Gnostic beliefs. You remember, the Gnostics felt
they had an esoteric kind of knowledge. And you needed it.

Dear ones, let’s be humble about any knowledge that God has given us. You know there are movements
among us in these days which depend on an esoteric kind of knowledge. Esoteric means, you know, a
specialized kind of knowledge. “And you must join my group to get it.” Ah, dear ones, that’s
dangerous. The Spirit of Jesus is an open spirit full of love, full of joy, with only one
assurance: that the Spirit of Christ moves among you, that the Spirit of Christ motivates your every
heart and your every action. But it does not depend on an esoteric kind of knowledge that you feel
you can bestow on everyone else. That’s the very mark of antichrist.

So is the last mark of this kind that I’d ask you to look at. It’s in 2 Peter 2:17-19 and this is
the very opposite of the unscriptural legalism. “These are waterless springs and mists driven by a
storm; for them the nether gloom of darkness has been reserved. For, uttering loud boasts of folly,
they entice with licentious passions of the flesh men who have barely escaped from those who live in
error. They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption; for whatever
overcomes a man, to that he is enslaved. For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the
world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them
and overpowered, the last state has become worse for them than the first.” And you see what the
Bible lays emphasis on, “They promise them freedom but they themselves are slaves of corruption.”
And there is an unscriptural freedom, an unscriptural licentiousness. There is a licentiousness
that says, “It doesn’t matter what we do. We have the Spirit of Christ within us.”

Dear ones, the mark of the Spirit of Christ is plain. It’s plain. And you can’t go on saying day,
after day, after day, “Well, I’m angry but I have liberty in the Spirit.” The Bible again, and
again right down the line talks about anger. Proverbs says, “Cease from anger and forsake wrath.”
Another verse in Proverbs says, “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty.” Ecclesiastes
says, “Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry for anger resteth in the bosom of fools and the fool
believeth that there is no God.” And Matthew 5:19 you remember, Jesus says, “Think not that I have
come to abolish that law and those prophets. I have come not to abolish them but I have come to
fulfill them. And I tell you it was said of old that whosoever kills is guilty of the judgment but
I say to you whosoever is angry with his brother is guilty of the judgment.”

Let us face the truth as it is in God’s word. Let us not say, “We have liberty, we have freedom,”
while anger rises and rules our hearts. We have nothing but the spirit of antichrist if that is so,
dear ones.

Now there is another mark of the spirit of antichrist and you can find it in 1 Timothy 1:6-7.
“Certain persons by swerving from these.” You see what “these” are. They’re in Verse 5, “The aim of
our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”
“Certain persons by swerving from these have wandered away into vain discussion, desiring to be
teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which
they make assertions.”

And so there are many today who claim to be able to teach the way of God but they teach it with so
much ambiguity that you don’t know which side you’re on. They say, “You should not sin.” But they
say, “Well, this may not be sin and you can sin a little.” They say, “Complete obedience to God is
necessary but, well, you have to allow for a little disobedience.” And they teach the way so
ambiguously that no one knows where they are. They say, “The Holy Spirit cleanses the heart from
all sin,” and then they say, “Well, if there is a little rising maybe that’s temptation.”

Dear ones, temptation comes from the outside. The fiery darts of the wicked one come into the

converted heart and it’s like a can of gasoline inside. And the look, the look of the girl or the
temptation to be angry comes in as a fiery dart of the wicked one and comes into the gasoline
inside. And there’s a reaction within that bursts out and responds. And the flame goes up within.
And the anger is out or the lust is out.

And when the sanctified heart meets the fiery darts of the wicked one, the fiery dart of the wicked
one comes from the outside and comes into the inside, and into the can of water and it sizzles out.
And the reaction and the response is not there.

Ah, dear ones, there’s no ambiguity about the sanctified life. You can know whether you’re
sanctified. It is clear. There is no response within. There is no rising from within. The
temptation comes from without. But the spirit of antichrist is trying to encourage many of us to
say, “Well, maybe this, maybe that.” The trumpet of God issues a certain sound. You have no doubt
about the trumpet of God. It issues a certain sound. And you know to prepare for battle. But so it
is that many dear ones have come into ambiguity in their teaching.

Dear ones, there’s no ambiguity in the Bible. It’s full of it, you know. Some people say, “Oh well,
should a Christian obey God’s word? Can you really expect them to obey God’s word?” Well it runs
through every part of it. Deuteronomy, “This day the Lord thy God has commanded thee to do these
statutes and judgments. Thou shall therefore keep them and do them with all thy heart and with all
thy soul.” Joshua says, “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth even but thou shall
meditate therein day and night that thou may observe to do according to all that is written
therein.” And we keep on asking, “Do you really mean that Christians are supposed to obey God’s
law?” And Samuel said, “Hath the Lord its great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in
obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold to obey is better than sacrifices and to harken than the fat
of rams.”

And we keep asking, “Do you really think a Christian cannot have any sin in his life?” And in
Matthew it says, “Not everyone that sayeth unto me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter into the kingdom of
heaven but he who doeth the will of my Father which thou in heaven.”

And we keep asking, “Do you really think that we cannot afford to disobey God’s law even in one jot
or tattle if we’re Christians or sons of God?”

Well the Bible says in James 4:17, “If a man knows what is right and fails to do it for him it is
sin.” And the Bible says, “Anyone who is born of God does not commit sin.” And then we keep on
asking you see, “Well, do you really think that we’re not allowed to sin at all?” And Jesus says,
“Therefore whosoever heareth these things of mine and doeth them I will liken him unto a wise man
who built his house upon a rock.” And we ask, “Do you really think a Christian is meant to live
without sin? Do you really think he’s meant to obey God’s word?” And Jesus says, “For whosoever
shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven the same is my brother and sister and mother.”
And we say, “Do you really think you can only belong to the family of God if you obey his word?”

Well dear ones, where does it stop? I have a list of symptoms of cancer here. Here they are and I
read them out to you, you don’t say to me, “I have only one of those.” One is enough. The marks of
the flesh are plain. You know they are. The marks of the flesh are there. And you can look them up
yourself in Galatians 5:18-23. “But if you are led by the Spirit you are not under the law.” You
see, you’re not going to be condemned under the law. “Now the words of the flesh are plain:
fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger,

selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like.”

Now the word of God is plain, if you come to that word and say, “Well, do you mean to say if I feel
just a little envy for that singer up there and just envy a little that voice, that I am not walking
in the will of God?” Well, you can judge for yourself. You may say, “Do you mean to say if anger
rises in my heart at the children that I have some of the works of the flesh in me?” Well look,
look at the word. There is no ambiguity in God’s word and there is no ambiguity in the Spirit of
Christ. But there is constant ambiguity in the spirit of antichrist.

Dear ones, I know many of you need to deal with the Holy Spirit for heart cleansing tonight, and the
spirit of antichrist is trying to deceive you and persuade you that the amount of victory that you
have already is sufficient. Dear ones, complete victory is possible in the power of the Holy
Spirit.

Well so it goes on. Another mark of the spirit of antichrist is 1 Timothy 4:1-2, “Now the Spirit
expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by giving heed to deceitful
spirits and doctrines of demons, through the pretensions of liars whose consciences are seared.”
And one of the marks of the spirit of antichrist is the deceitful spirit, the dishonest spirit.

When the Holy Spirit comes in and cleanses your heart and begins to lead you in away from your
soulish powers and into the purity of the resources of the tree of life, then you become very
conscious of the slightest dishonesty. The Holy Spirit makes you treasure absolute honesty,
absolute honesty. “That’s a beautiful dress.” Well, if it really is and you really think it is then
the Spirit of Jesus would have you say it, and the dear one will know you mean it. And the dear one
will know politeness and the dear one will know that cultured sophistication when she sees it. And
there’s just a great difference between the two. When the Holy Spirit comes into your heart he makes
you treasure honesty. He has nothing to do with deceitful spirits because they are of the spirit of
antichrist. He has nothing to do with doctrines of demons.

I think there are doctrines about demons as well as doctrines of demons. I think many dear ones
want to cast out demons when they should be repenting of carnality. And I think there are a lot of
us, you know, that have that doctrine of demons and doctrine about demons. There are doctrines of
demons such as Robinson (John A. T. Robinson, Anglican bishop) spreads about the virgin birth of
Christ and there are doctrines of demons such as Altizer (Thomas J. J. Altizer, b. 1927) spreads
about the reality of God.

But there are also doctrines about demons. And many of us are wanting people to cast out demons from
us when really the demon is just bad temper. And we need to get down under God and surrender that
old self which produces the bad temper to him. But the doctrine of demons and the doctrines about
demons are part of the spirit of antichrist.

And then you see that it mentions that “their consciences have become seared”. And many wives weep
over husbands in these days…husbands who think they are far on in the spirit and have not the
Spirit of Jesus ruling in their own hearts and in their homes. You cannot be advanced in the spirit
unless the beauty of Jesus rules your life, in your home, and in your work.

Just two more, dear ones, and one especially I think that is important. You find it in Ezekiel
34:2-3. These men were produced by the spirit of antichrist even in Old Testament times. “Son of
man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds,

Thus says the Lord GOD: Ho, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves!” A shepherd, you
see, is one who feeds. But you’ve been feeding yourselves. “Should not shepherds feed the sheep?
You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not
feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the crippled you
have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with
force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd; and
they became food for all the wild beasts.”

There are many who feel they have advanced far in the Christian faith and they are ruled by
selfishness. And so I say to my dear brothers and sisters whom I love, it is glorious that there
will come a day when the sons of God will be revealed. It is glorious that Jesus is building for
himself a great body that will rise up and glorify his Father in heaven even has he glorified his
Father. It is glorious that there will be a great day when the sons of God will be revealed. And
that’s great, but dear ones, let’s be careful. Let’s be careful that we do not become preoccupied
with the revelation of us as the sons of God lest we find ourselves feeding ourselves instead of
feeding the sheep.

After all, there’s a time to sow and a time to reap. There is a time to be born and a time to die.
There’s a time to save the lost and to see the Holy Spirit filling others with the beauty of Jesus
and with the power of Jesus. And there is a time for the revelation of the sons of God. And no doubt
God will lead us forward bit-by-bit. We don’t have to keep looking ahead and trying to see what is
going to happen. We can trust the Holy Spirit to prepare us for that day. Let us be careful that
none of the advancement that we have in the Christian faith becomes a selfish delight in our
position. Let us be careful that we are found doing what God has given us to do. The commission,
the great commission, my dear brother said, has never been withdrawn. We are still called to go and
preach the gospel to all the world. And we are to be found doing that when Jesus comes.

Well, the very last mark of the spirit of antichrist is there in the original chapters we were
studying. 1 John 2:22, “Who is the liar?” “Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the
Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.” You mean, “I say, God is
not the Father? Jesus is not the Son?” No. Deny means, make nothing of the Father and make nothing
of the Son.

Perhaps the greatest and clearest mark of the spirit of antichrist is that the antichrist will rise
in the place of Jesus. He will take the place that Jesus himself ought to have and the spirit of
antichrist is found in its clearest in our own hearts, in our own selves when we want to rise up and
rule our own lives. And the dear one comes home, and Jesus wants to be loving to that dear one, but
the old self wants to rise up and cut the dear one apart. Jesus wants to rise up in us and get the
glory and the service. He wants to receive the glory to himself and our old self rises up and we
want all men to look at us. We want every eye to see what we have done.

There’s a great pride rises up within us. We not only want our way so that Jesus will not have his
way, but we want our glory so he will not have his glory. There’s a great desire to be praised, a
great desire to be noticed that rises up in the heart that is ruled by the Spirit of antichrist.
Because you see, the antichrist is already preparing that heart for himself. He’s already preparing
that heart so that that heart will recognize him when he comes. That heart will bury down the
pride, will bury down the envy and the jealousy but that is all seeping underneath and will rise up
to receive the antichrist when he arrives.

There are only two guardians against the spirit of antichrist. There is first of all in 2 Timothy
3:16-17, the scripture itself. You can look at it there. Paul explained to Timothy that there would
come days of stress and surely those days are already upon us when men would be lovers of self
rather than lovers of God. And then he says there is only one guard on that day. “All scripture is
inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in
righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” And in Verse 14
he says in these days, “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed,
knowing from whom you learned it.”

And the second guardian against the spirit of antichrist is found in John 16:13. And it is as you
can guess yourselves, the true Holy Spirit of truth. “When the Spirit of truth comes,” into your
heart, “He will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but
whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.”

There will come a day either before you and I die, or soon after it, when a glorious figure will
appear in our world and he will have apparently the fruits of the spirit and he will do many might
works such as Jesus himself did. And that great figure will call to himself all who believe in him,
all who respect what he is. And great, great numbers of even the elect will come towards him and be
deceived. And their judgment will have already taken place. And you say, “How can I prepare for
that day?” Allow the Holy Spirit to wield his sword in your heart tonight and be honest.

Now many of you have been arguing haven’t you? I know it because God told me. Many of you have
been arguing with God, and you’ve been saying, “Victorious life can’t be that victorious.” A little
anger? A little envy? A little jealousy? And the spirit of antichrist is already at work in you.
Dear ones, the only way to prepare is to be open with God–open with God, direct with him and honest
now and admit that you are what you are. And you say, “What can be done?” Well at this present
time the Holy Spirit is here among us. At this present time we are privileged to have the Holy
Spirit in our midst.

There will come a day when he will be withdrawn, but the Holy Spirit is here tonight. And his word
is here and you know his word well enough during this past week to know where you stand. The Holy
Spirit is able to show you where the spirit of antichrist still rules in your heart and where you
yourself are being prepared for his coming. You need to come to the altar tonight and allow the
Holy Spirit to do that. Ask him, “Holy Spirit of truth, show me where the spirit of antichrist
still rules in my heart. Show me where I am not being obedient to you.” And the Holy Spirit will
show you and then you need to see that all that spirit of antichrist within you, all that old self
was crucified with Jesus. And the Holy Spirit is able to crucify it now in you.

He is able to cleanse out all that and fill you with himself so that when the antichrist comes the
Holy Spirit will cry in your heart, “That is the antichrist.” But he can only cry that in the heart
of one who is being utterly obedient to him, today. Well, are you such a one? And will you have
such a counselor on that fateful day? I pray that you will. I pray that you’ll receive him tonight
if you haven’t received him already. Let us pray.

Loving Father, we trust you now to do your work. Blessed Holy Spirit, your word has been proclaimed
and we trust you to minister to each of us as we need that we may not be found following the wrong
man on that fateful day. We trust you Holy Spirit, now to minister to us and to draw out the ones
that need to take you fully into their hearts and surrender their spirits completely to you. For
the glory of Jesus, our Savior, amen.